Frequently Asked Questions

Magnattack® has been designing and manufacturing magnetic separators since 1969. Each product is tailored to meet customer specifications while addressing five critical separation areas: Coverage, Retention, Magnet Configuration, Strength, and Hygiene. What sets Magnattack apart from other manufacturers is the superior quality of our magnets. We maintain complete control over the procurement and manufacturing of all materials to ensure they meet our strict tolerance standards, enabling our magnets to produce the highest quality magnetic fields. We develop solutions that are specifically designed for individual applications, addressing unique challenges. Unlike off-the-shelf products that require customization to fit your processes, we focus on understanding our customers’ needs and providing them with effective solutions. Magnattack’s responsiveness to customer needs and requests is what makes us the preferred choice for magnetic separators. Our extensive knowledge of magnets and magnetism has established us as a thought leader in the industry.

Almost every solution from Magnattack is manufactured to meet customers’ unique requirements. Every step of the manufacturing process is handled in-house. With full control over the manufacturing process, we can configure pole centers where they need to be located and in the direct line of the product flow.

Your Magnattack consultant will work closely with you and coordinate with the Magnattack engineering and operations teams to support every step of the design and equipment specification process, ensuring your project objectives are met. At times, you’ll also have direct contact with key engineering personnel as needed.

Magnattack started in 1969, in the founder’s garage in the Australian city of Wollongong, NSW.

Magnattack is a global organization servicing North America and The United States, South America,  Australia, New Zealand, Europe and Southeast Asia.

While Magnattack focuses on the food industry, Magnattack has many solutions for applications outside of the food industry and has been very successful in these applications. Some examples are polymer, adhesive and abrasives manufacturing and EV battery recycling.

Magnattack is a focused, responsive and dynamic magnetic separation solutions provider who understands magnetic separation principles at a very high level. Magnattack is known to provide extremely high levels of service and support for its customers and quickly. Additionally, many customers inform Magnattack that their products are of superior quality, exceeding the performance of other options available in the market.

A magnetic separator is a specialized piece of equipment used to remove unwanted metal contaminants from processing lines. Magnattack designs and manufactures high-quality RE80® magnetic separators specifically for food and pharmaceutical applications. These separators can be installed at various points throughout a processing plant—from the initial product intake through each stage of processing and packaging. As ingredients and products move through the magnetic separator, metal contaminants such as work-hardened stainless steel, stones, fine dust, and other magnetic particles are attracted to the magnetic element. These contaminants remain on the magnet until they are manually cleaned by operators, although self-cleaning models are also available to automatically clear collected metal, reducing manual effort. To explore our full range of magnetic separators and discover more about their benefits, applications, and functionality, please visit our Magnattack equipment page.

Rare-earth magnets date back to the 1970’s and produce significantly stronger magnetic fields than other types of magnets such as ferrite or alnico magnets. There are two types of permanent rare earth magnets, namely neodymium and samarium-cobalt.

Rare earth magnets are known to be the strongest types of magnets available, however there are varying grades of rare earth material. Magnattack RE80® guarantee provides assurance to our customers that the equipment we supply will be of the highest possible quality, long-term strength life, and have strong resistance to oxygen absorption and resonant vibration – both of which are key causes of demagnetization in conventional rare earth magnets.

There is no set or generic answer for which magnets should be in each application. Each application should be individually assessed based on the product, type of line, location in the process and tonnage rate, amongst a wide variety of other factors. Magnattack’s experienced personnel can examine your applications and provide solutions based on the individual merits your need presents.

Magnetic separators typically will attract anything that is magnetic or work-hardened, provided that the weight or size of the fragment does not outweigh its magnetic susceptibility. Some examples of foreign pieces that are commonly extracted by Magnattack magnetic separators include: Nuts, bolts, screws, staples, and other pieces from damaged machinery; Wire from the field; Magnetic stone; Drenching capsule springs from animals; Magnetic dust and fine fragments; Small weakly magnetic stone; Work-hardened and machine fatigued stainless steel fragments.

Metal detectors, x-ray machines and magnetic separation equipment complement each other and should all be installed in food processing lines to ensure maximum product security and foreign matter detection. Good magnets that sufficiently cover the product stream, upstream of metal detectors, will remove tiny fragments of metal contamination that could be missed by a metal detector. Larger, non-ferrous metals such as a stainless steel nut or bolt, that is not sufficiently work-hardened to be stopped by the magnet, will be detected by the metal detector, making both an important duo for product security.

Rare earth magnets are often affected by oxygen absorption, heat, thermal shock, and vibration.

Only adverse factors—such as prolonged strong vibrations, high temperatures, moisture and oxygen exposure, or thermal shock—can cause a magnet’s strength to diminish over time.

Dura-Slik® is an FDA-accepted, hard-densified molecular coating that provides 316 stainless steel with enhanced abrasion resistance and long-lasting anti-stick properties. This feature also serves as an effective barrier against galvanic reactions on the magnet’s surface. Without Dura-Slik, certain applications may experience accelerated pitting, which can lead to magnet deterioration and potentially allow fragments into the product stream. Dura-Slik is used across a range of magnetic surfaces, including Grate Magnets, Bar Magnets, and Magnet Probes, especially where product residue buildup or surface scratches on softer stainless steel could compromise hygiene. It is also ideal for abrasion resistance in applications involving abrasive or sticky materials such as grain, sugar, salt, lactose, coffee, rice, oats, and legumes.

Dura-Slik is an FDA-accepted, hard-densified molecular coating that provides 316 stainless steel with enhanced abrasion resistance and long-lasting anti-stick properties. This coating also serves as an effective barrier against galvanic reactions on the magnet’s surface. Without Dura-Slik, certain applications may experience accelerated pitting, which can lead to magnet deterioration and potentially allow fragments into the product stream. Dura-Slik is used across a range of magnetic surfaces, including Grate Magnets, Bar Magnets, and Magnet Probes, especially where product residue buildup or surface scratches on softer stainless steel could compromise hygiene. It is also ideal for abrasion resistance in applications involving abrasive or sticky materials such as grain, sugar, salt, lactose, coffee, rice, oats, and legumes.

In food processing plants, magnets are commonly installed in: Blowlines and vacuum lines – lean/dilute phase; Gravity lines; Pump lines; Hopper discharges; Hopper inlets; Ingredient intakes; Packing lines; Bulk outload and discharges. Installs are not limited to the above and magnets are often found in a variety of strategic locations throughout a food processing plant.

It is recommended to install the final magnet as close to the end of the line as possible, positioned after any moving parts that might cause wear. Ideally, it should also be placed after (need to confirm this is not meant to say ‘before’, as there are times magnets should be before metal detectors) metal detectors or X-ray machines.

Stainless steel fragments become work-hardened and magnetic through a process called work hardening or strain hardening. This happens when the stainless steel is mechanically deformed—such as by bending, cutting, or impacting. This deformation changes the metal’s internal structure, increasing its hardness and strength. Most stainless steels are initially non-magnetic. However, when they are deformed, some can change into a magnetic form due to the stress applied. This structural change allows them to develop magnetic properties. Therefore, work-hardened stainless steel fragments, especially those made from ferritic or martensitic types, can become magnetic.

Non-magnetic stainless steel in its virgin form is non-magnetic, however, when non-magnetic stainless steel such as 304 or 316 grade stainless steel is work-hardened/mechanically fatigued, it becomes weakly/ferro-magnetic. As a result, such materials are retractable by high-strength magnets. This mechanical fatigue is common when moving and wearing parts on machinery, therefore work-hardened stainless steel poses a serious potential contamination risk in food processing plants. The degree of magnetic susceptibility of work-hardened stainless steel is dependent on the degree of work-hardening and the grade of stainless steel. Some stone fragments such as blue metal are magnetic. There are a wide variety of stones that are magnetic, and their magnetic susceptibility is dependent upon the degree of iron content in the stone.

Maybe you have never had a problem with metal fragments, maybe you already have metal detectors, or maybe your ingredient supplier already has sufficient foreign contamination control measures and the product is clean when it arrives at your plant…so why do you need magnets? In these situations, magnets are used for ‘preventative control’. You may have a typically clean product, but this does not mean that a small piece of contamination will not slip into your mix – it may result from one of your machines wearing down, or it could have entered during transportation to your plant. Metal fragments can come from anywhere, at any time. Although small in size, a tiny piece of contamination can lead to huge problems for the companies involved, including product recall, breakdown of supplier/customer faith in your brand, and financial loss resulting from a combination of these. Not including magnetic separation equipment in your food safety program is a high risk to take – and as the old saying goes, it is better to be safe than sorry!

Metal fragments can come from anywhere, at any time. Some types of products typically do not have high levels of magnetic contamination; however this does not mean that those products are risk-free. Magnetic contamination can result from a variety of different factors or sources and there is never a guarantee that your product will not be affected. It is important to have foreign matter contamination controls in place, even if your product is typically clean. There is always a risk of metal contamination in food, and quality controls should be present in every plant to ensure that fragments do not trigger a product recall or cause harm to the end consumer.

Achieving 100% separation is not possible due to the wide range of magnetic material types, each with different magnetic susceptibilities. These vary from highly magnetic to weakly magnetic, with weaker magnetic particles being more easily washed away. Therefore, the strength and design of the magnetic separator are critical to capturing as many weakly magnetic particles as possible.

Depending on the type of magnet you have and where it is installed, your cleaning practices will differ. It is important to ensure your cleaning methods are safe and do not cause WHS/OHS risks. It is also important to ensure that your magnets are installed in accessible locations and have easy-clean features. Magnattack Mag-Stride® Magnetic Mats, Spherical Inline Pneumatic Separators and Rapidclean® Magnetic Separators all have special tools designed to make cleaning more efficient and safer. If you have a hard-to-access application where cleaning may pose safety risks, you should consider a self-cleaning option or a Rapidclean-type system, which will help you to minimize the lifting of heavy magnet grates – a leading cause of potential WHS hazards and damage to the equipment.

You can determine the appropriate cleaning frequency by inspecting the magnetic separator after the initial installation to assess the amount of contaminants collected. This assessment will help you set a cleaning schedule based on the level of contamination detected.

The validation of Magnattack separation equipment is conducted by AMR Consulting, a global leader in magnet validations and reporting. While Magnattack technicians are specially trained to perform physical magnet testing, the fully HACCP-Certified reports and recommendations are exclusively completed by AMR. It’s worth noting that AMR also tests magnets from other manufacturers and is not limited to Magnattack® equipment. To schedule a validation, plant risk assessment, or to seek advice on magnet testing, please visit the AMR Consulting website or reach out to us directly.

This debate has been ongoing in the food industry for many years. In the past, pull testing was the common practice for testing magnets, however, recent technology shows that gauss testing is a more reliable and accurate form of measuring coercive force right at the product contact surface.

Persons with pacemakers should not come into the vicinity of a magnet. Please refer to our safety sheet before coming into contact with Magnattack magnets.

The safe recommended distance for persons with cardiac pacemakers is a minimum of 12″ or 300 mm from the magnet, however, this may vary based on your device. Please always consult your cardiac specialist for expert advice prior to coming in contact with magnets. Magnattack can also provide general safety information for magnets.

Yes, however, as magnets in aviation are technically classed as ‘dangerous goods’ due to their potential effects on navigational instruments, magnets should be insulated in accordance with strict aviation regulations. Please contact the relevant freight authorities for full details, or contact us for further assistance.